LONDON: Six activists on Thursday denied terror charges for allegedly supporting the banned group Palestine Action and were freed on bail by a UK court.
The six, aged between 26 to 62, risk up to 14 years in prison for allegedly supporting the group which was banned in July by the UK government after vandalism at a Royal Air Force base.
They were arrested on Tuesday and Wednesday and charged “with various offenses of encouraging support for a proscribed terrorist organization,” the Crown Prosecution Service said in a statement.
The charges result from 13 online meetings they attended to prepare for several protests over the summer.
During an online press conference Wednesday, representatives of the group, Defend Our Juries, to which the arrested individuals belonged, confirmed demonstrations would go ahead Saturday in London, Derry in Northern Ireland, and Edinburgh in Scotland.
British police have made hundreds of arrests at recent protests in support of Palestine Action.
British film director Ken Loach, who attended the event, called the ban on Palestine Action “absurd” and accused the government of being complicit in Israel’s “incredible crimes” in Gaza.
“This level of political repression is not what we expect in a democracy — it’s the kind of tactic typically associated with authoritarian regimes around the world,” a spokesperson for Defend our Juries said in a statement earlier this week.
The group has vowed to press ahead with its demonstration on Saturday in Parliament Square, claiming 1,000 people had pledged to hold signs saying “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
More than 700 people who have held up such signs at previous protests over the last two months have been arrested under anti-terror laws for showing support for a proscribed organization.